Opera Reviews

2005-06 Season

Norma

La Boheme

Aida

Cinderella

Salome

NORMA October 2005
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DOH fan
Sarah Davies - Farmington Hills

I was so excited to attend Norma this past Friday. The orchestra sounded phenomenal, and the vocalists were some of the best I have ever heard. I enjoy the DOH very much. The acoustics always sound so incredible in this incredible historical part of our city. I am very excited to continue my experiences at the DOH. I cannot wait for the ballet!

I took my 14 year old daughter and two of our friends to the opening night of Norma. My daughter was just spellbound and amazed. It was her favorite opera to date. We all were totally absorbed by the music and fell in love with the sets. Thanks for a great evening!!!

Many people have posted comments about Ms. Papian's performance of Norma, however we should not gloss over the performance by Ms. Harris. Her execution of this tremendously difficult role was splendid and truly in keeping with the high standard that Michigan Opera Theatre has come to be known for. Thank you, thank you, thank you for putting Norma in the 2005-2006 season! You are off to a great start!

I had the great pleasure of seeing Norma for the first time this week. The performances of all the cast members were exquisite. It was a very enjoyable experience even for my husband who normally does not enjoy opera and is actually looking forward to the next performance at MOT.

The singing—especially the duets—was beautiful beyond words. However, the goofy costumes diminished the value of the performance as great opera.

Brava to any Diva that tackles such a beastly difficult role. In the Wednesday evening performance, Ms. Papian had exquisite control on the messa di voccis. She had beautiful, rich tone color that flowed flawlessly. The duets between Papian and Mishura were full of vibrance. The two voices together had moments where they were completely seamless; you couldn't tell where one voice ended and the other began. Thrilling vocal magic! My only upsetting moment was when audience members mistook a short pause for a scene change and intermission. People scrambling around and talking made me miss some beautiful orchestral moments.

When I was a teenager I heard Maria Callas's Norma in Mexico City. This production was equally exciting. The two sopranos were wonderful. So was the rest of the cast, including, of course, our marvelous chorus. My only peeve is with the women's costumes. They were druids; I am sure they did not wear those dresses in that period.

I saw Norma on opening night, and it was just great! I'd read in the papers that the lead role is really difficult, but you never would have known it listening to Ms. Papian sing. She was terrific!

The rest of the cast was great too! I'm glad MOT staged this show, because I'd never seen it before, and it was really, really beautiful.

Read other comments from the 2005-06 season
Norma | La Boheme | Aida | Cinderella | Salome

Photos by John Grigaitis